The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has called on African countries to embark on a systematic documentation of their cultural heritage, warning that the continent risks losing invaluable historical assets if they are not properly preserved and recorded.

The monarch made the call during a visit to the Afro Brazil Museum in São Paulo, Brazil, where he stressed the need for African governments to establish comprehensive national registers of cultural properties, including artefacts, monuments, historic sites and other objects of cultural significance.
In a statement issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, the Alaafin said Africa’s growing engagement with the global community made it imperative to preserve its cultural identity for future generations.

He noted that cultural assets created by past generations, as well as those being produced today, should be properly documented because they represent the continent’s history and civilisation.
“Africa is opening herself to the world in a way she has never done before. We are no longer viewed as the ‘Dark Continent’, while the civilisations that once flourished across Africa have become subjects of global artistic and historical interest.

“The headcount of our cultural property must be properly documented. Museums across Africa have the primary responsibility of ensuring that national registers of these cultural materials are created because they belong not only to Africa but to humanity as a whole,” he said.
Oba Owoade warned that rapid modernisation, though beneficial, poses significant threats to cultural heritage if deliberate preservation efforts are not undertaken.

According to him, the disappearance of traditional economic and social systems has led to the gradual extinction of many cultures, with serious implications for disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology and art history.
He said failure to adequately preserve and document objects and places of historical importance would amount to an irreparable loss to humanity.

The Alaafin described museums as critical institutions for safeguarding the continent’s cultural memory, urging African governments to invest more in heritage preservation and historical documentation.
The Afro Brazil Museum, located within Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo, is regarded as the largest museum dedicated to the African diaspora in Latin America.

Founded in 2004 by renowned Brazilian artist and curator Emanuel Araújo, the museum houses more than 6,000 works of art, artefacts and historical objects spanning over five centuries of Brazilian history.
Its collections include paintings, sculptures, photographs, ethnographic materials, religious objects, slavery-era equipment, traditional crafts and archival documents that chronicle the history and contributions of Africans and their descendants to Brazilian society.

The institution also promotes cultural education, artistic development and professional training for underprivileged Afro-Brazilian youths while advancing awareness of Brazil’s African heritage and cultural diversity.
Oba Owoade described the museum as an important model for preserving African history in the diaspora, saying African countries could draw valuable lessons from its approach to documenting and promoting cultural heritage.